“You realize the forces I can bring to bear against you, child? You realize the power I have, the destruction I represent? I am mountains that crush. I am waves that crash. I am storms that shatter. I am the end.”
—Ruin to Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
Ruin is a Shard of Adonalsium. Its original Shardholder was Ati, but is currently held by Sazed. Its power was "intermingled" with Preservation's forming the shard Harmony.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Intent
Ruin seeks change. It is not inherently evil, because without death there is no change, but its destructive actions are often contrary to life existing peacefully.
Associated magic
Ruin fuels Hemalurgy, one of the three Metalic Arts on Scadrial. The solid form of Ruins's power, a metal known as atium, allows the user to see a few seconds into the future when Allomantically burned.
Individuals who are pierced by Hemalurgic spikes can hear Ruin's voice in their head. Upon his release, he was able to fully take control of such people.
Lore
The deal and betrayal
Ruin and Preservation, the two Shards on Scadrial, struck a deal to create sentient life on the planet. Preservation would have a sliver more of itself in humans, but Ruin would be allowed to destroy the world.
Preservation broke the terms of the agreement by sacrificing his mind to create a prison for Ruin's mind, preventing him from destroying the world. Furthermore, in an attempt to balance the power (since some of Preservation was now stored in humanity), he sequestered away a portion of Ruin's power in the metal atium.
Ruin encouraged the mists, left behind by Preservation, to choke off sunlight to the planet. This is what became known as the Deepness.
Touch on the world
Ruin's entrapped mind could still influence the world. In particular, he changed the prophecies left behind by Preservation in an attempt to get the Hero of Ages to release him from his prison. This led to Rashek becoming the Lord Ruler.
Ruin was released from his prison accidentally by Vin 1024 years later (due to his manipulating the prophecies), and he immediately went on a rampage to destroy Scadrial. Central to this plan was his need to overcome Preservation, which meant that he needed to find the stash of atium left behind by the Lord Ruler.
The death of Ati
Ruin's rampage was ended when he had Marsh kill Elend. Vin (holding the shard Preservation) realized she had nothing more to live for, and killed herself and took Ati (Ruin's Shardholder) with her.
The end of Ruin was Preservation's plan all along. He needed someone new, and therefore not molded to Preservation's intent, to make the sacrifice needed to destroy Ruin. Leras spent too much time holding the Preservation Shard, and was thus unable to act against its intent.
Sazed picked up both Preservation and Ruin following Vin's sacrifice, and is the current holder of both Shards.
Quotes
“Kill him.”
—Ruin to ZaneCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“I am FREE!”
—Upon Ruin's release.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“"Ah, Vin," Ruin said, its voice almost fatherly in tone. "You act as if I were your enemy."
"You are my enemy. You seek to end the things I love."
"And is an ending always bad?" it asked. "Must not all things, even worlds, someday end?"”
—Ruin to Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“Do not mourn because the day of this world's end has arrived. That end was ordained the very day of the world's conception. There is a beauty in death--the beauty of finality, the beauty of completion.
For nothing is truly complete until the day it is finally destroyed.”—Ruin to Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“There was one good thing about Ruin's voice--it tended to warn her when people were nearby, even if it did always tell her to kill them.”
—Vin's thoughts about Ruin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“You still don't understand, I see. You're all on my side, Vin. I created you. You're my tools--each and every one of you. Zane, Aradan Yomen, you, your dear Emperor Venture...”
—Ruin taunting Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“This process we are engaged in, the end of all things—-it's not a fight, but a simple culmination of inevitability. Can any man make a pocket watch that won't eventually wind down? Can you imagine a lantern that won't eventually burn out? All things end. Think of me as a caretaker—-the one who watches the shop and makes certain that the lights are turned out, that everything is cleaned up, once closing time arrives.”
—Ruin taunting Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“You are a piece of me, you know. Beautiful destroyer. Blunt and effective. Of all those I've claimed over this brief thousand years, you are the only one I think just might be able to understand me.”
—Ruin to Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“The only point in creating something is to watch it die.”
—Ruin to Vin.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“Those quakes are the earth's final sighs," Ruin said. "Like an old man, moaning as he dies, calling for his children so that he can pass on his last bits of wisdom.”
—Ruin to VinCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“That's the way it must always be, as I told you. When men think they are helping the world, they actually do more harm than good. Just like you. You tried to help, but you just ended up freeing me.”
—Ruin to VinCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“You can't fool me, Vin," Ruin said. "I am God.”
—Ruin to VinCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“For Ruin, there is Preservation. Time immemorial! Eternity! And each time I push, YOU push back. Even when dead, you stopped me, for we are forces. I can do nothing! And you can do nothing! Balance! The curse of our existence.”
—Ruin to Vin after her ascension.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“Balance, Ruin spat. Balance imprisoned me. Preservation's sacrifice--that was to siphon off the part of me that was stronger, to lock it away, to leave me equal with him again. For a time.
Only for a time. And what is time to us, Vin?
Nothing.”
—Ruin to Vin as she tries to get a message to Elend.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“Opposition. Balance. You'll learn to hate it, I suspect, though Preservation never could.”
—Ruin to Vin as she first attacks Ruin directly and withdraws.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“I can't decide if you're a fool, or if you simply exist in a way that makes you incapable of considering some things.”
—Vin to Ruin as Elend fights the koloss.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“How do you like that! I killed him! I Ruined everything you love! I took it from you!”
—Ruin to Vin as he kills ElendCite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content
“He gave up his power at the Well, and into the mists, giving it to us so that we could take it. He always intended this to happen. You think this was your plan? It was his. His all along.
You created the thing that can kill you, Ruin. And you just made one huge final mistake. You shouldn't have killed Elend.
You see, he was the only reason I had left to live.”
—Vin's last words.Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; refs with no name must have content